Bragging rights on the line in Bears-Packers championship

When I was in sixth grade, I had two teachers. Let’s call them Teacher A and Professor B.

These two teachers had a bi-yearly bet. Well, since I went to a small, private, Christian school, let’s call it a friendly wager for the sake of their employment.

You see, Teacher A was a die-hard Bears fan. I mean, this individual loved the Bears with everything he had. He was blue and orange, through and through.

Conversely, Professor B was a Packers fan—as big of a Packers fan as one could be.

Now, whenever the Bears would face the Packers, whichever team won, the other person would have to come to school the next day dressed in that team’s apparel. So, if the Bears won, Professor B would have to show up decked out in Bears’ gear, and vice versa.

To my sixth-grade mind, this bet defined ultimate bragging rights. To see a Bears fan dressed in that dreadful green and yellow all day—it was the worst.

Or, so it seemed to be the worst.

That is, until the Packers defeated the Falcons, and the Bears defeated the Seahawks last weekend to set the stage for one of the most intense and highly-anticipated NFC Championship games to date.

Here, my friends, lies ultimate bragging rights. This is it—this is the biggest matchup between the Bears and the Packers in their century-long rivalry.

The Bears and the Packers haven’t met in the postseason since 1941 in what was just a divisional playoff game. This time, it’s for a ticket to the Super Bowl.

It is games like this that make people watch sports. For years, Bears fans have yearned to prove their dominance over the Packers. For decades, Packers fans have sought to show why they are the real Monsters of the Midway.

Now, it all boils down to one game. Maybe I’m crazy for staking so much in this game, but I believe it is that big of a game.

If the Bears win this game, Packers fans better run and hide, because you’ll never hear the end of it. The same goes for the Bears. This one is going to stick around for a long, long time.

To think that one of the most exciting football games in the history of the National Football League is just days away is exciting, to say the least. As I said, it’s games like this that make people watch sports.

There’s no rivalry quite like the Bear-Packers rivalry. It’s time to put up or shut up.

After this NFC Championship game, nothing else in this storied rivalry will matter. All people will remember is when the Bears kept the Packers out of the Super Bowl, or vice versa.

Everything is riding on this game, and this game alone.

After all, this is about more than just wearing your rival’s colors for a day at school.